Core Creek Park's New Lake Luxembourg Trail Arrives in the Off-Season

When Bucks County broke ground on the new trail at Core Creek Park in May 2025, Middletown Township's interim manager at the time, Nick Valla, called the park "the absolute gem," according to LevittownNow's coverage of the groundbreaking. In the same report, the county's transportation planning lead, Rich Brahler, called the floating boardwalk at the center of the project "pretty cool."

Eighteen months later, the county has scheduled the ribbon-cutting for noon on Thursday, November 12, 2026, at Pavilion #1, 901 Bridgetown Pike in Langhorne. The rental kayaks and pedalboats have been off Lake Luxembourg since September, so the new mile makes its debut in the walking months. It follows the shoreline, crosses open water on a boardwalk designed to move with the lake, and ends at the Woodbourne Road corner, where PennDOT finished rebuilding the roads this summer.

The mile, from the picnic area to the fishing area

The project's formal name is Neshaminy Greenway Trail III. On Bucks County's project page, it is a one-mile trail that connects the park's existing trails to the intersection of Woodbourne and Ellis Roads. Here is the route as the county describes it, starting from the west:

1. It starts at an existing picnic area and heads east along Tollgate Road, right beside Lake Luxembourg.
2. It turns north and follows the curve of the lake's shoreline.
3. It crosses a tributary of Core Creek on the floating boardwalk.
4. It runs east between Ellis Road and the lake.
5. It ends at the existing fishing area on Woodbourne Road.

If you know the park mostly from the Bridgetown Pike side, the change is a continuous path along the lake's eastern edge once the trail opens. The county's stated goal for the project is linking the existing park trails to the Woodbourne and Ellis corner.

The boardwalk is the part built for changing water

Where the trail crosses the Core Creek tributary, it rides on a floating boardwalk. The county calls it the first floating boardwalk of its kind in Bucks County. Its groundbreaking announcement says no other Bucks County trail has one.

The ramps are the clever part. The county says they are designed to adjust to the lake's level, which helps keep the trail open whether Lake Luxembourg is running low or high. A fixed bridge stays at one height while the water moves under it. This crossing is designed to move with the water, keeping the 10-foot path continuous across the 150 feet of open water.

The rest area in the middle will also give the park a place to stand over the lake without a boat, which matters more after Labor Day. The Core Creek boat rental page lists kayaks, canoes, pedalboats and rowboats, with Monday, September 7, as the last day of the season. Once the trail opens, the boardwalk offers a way out over the water through the rest of fall and winter.

Starting from the Woodbourne Road end

The new trail ends at the fishing area on Woodbourne Road, and that corner of Middletown Township has changed a lot in the past year and a half.

On July 10, 2026, PennDOT announced that major construction was complete on an $11.1 million project on Langhorne-Yardley Road through the Bridgetown Pike and Woodbourne Road intersections. The project included:

• A new single-lane roundabout at Langhorne-Yardley Road and Bridgetown Pike, which reopened on Friday, August 15, 2025
• A realigned northern leg of Woodbourne Road
• Added turn lanes on all four approaches to the Langhorne-Yardley and Woodbourne intersection
• Upgraded signals, lighting, ADA curb ramps and better pedestrian and bicycle access

In June, PennDOT's work notices included lane closures on Woodbourne Road between Kilburn Road and the Core Creek Park entrance, so the road leading to this end of the park was part of the job.

One contractor, inside the park and out

The same firm is attached to both projects. The county named James D. Morrissey as the trail's construction contractor, with Gilmore & Associates handling the design. PennDOT names James D. Morrissey, Inc. of Philadelphia as the general contractor on the Langhorne-Yardley work, which was paid for with 80 percent federal and 20 percent state funds. The rebuilt roads outside the park and the new path inside it share one contractor and the same stretch of time.

For a walker, the Woodbourne Road fishing area becomes a real starting point once the trail opens, rather than a turnaround at the far end. Park there and you can walk west along the lake toward Tollgate Road and the picnic area. Start on the Tollgate side instead and you can finish at Woodbourne. PennDOT did warn of occasional single-lane closures during final work after July, so check 511PA before you drive if you are heading over for the ceremony.

How a November visit to Core Creek works now

The park's off-season setup decides where you start, and the dog park is the biggest factor on the Tollgate side. The county's Core Creek dog park page puts it at the Tollgate Road entrance, close to where the new trail heads east along the lake.

Plan around the Wednesday maintenance window. If a midday walk with the dog is part of your week, the noon-to-3 closure is a good time for a leashed walk on the lakeside mile once it opens. Daylight is short this time of year, and the dog park closes at sunset, so on a weekday you will want to visit in the morning or right after lunch.

The county's own list of park features covers hiking, bikeways and walkways, boating programs, fishing and the off-leash dog area. The new trail is 10 feet wide and meant for shared use, so it will add to the walking and biking side of that list, which is the part of the park that keeps working after the boats are put away.

The first mile of a much longer creek trail

Bucks County plans for the Neshaminy Greenway Trail to eventually follow Neshaminy Creek all the way from its start near Chalfont Borough to where it meets the Delaware River. The county's groundbreaking announcement called the Core Creek segment the first trail in a new planned network. Once finished, it becomes part of the Circuit, the Delaware Valley's 800-mile network of bicycle trails.

The county put construction at about $3.2 million and expected it to take 12 to 18 months. Construction was paid for through PennDOT's Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program, and the design through PennDOT's Act 13 Marcellus Legacy Fund. The Bucks County Planning Commission led the planning with support from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. According to LevittownNow's 2025 reporting, Commissioner Bob Harvie described trails as "pretty unanimously popular" at the groundbreaking.

For people in Langhorne and Middletown, the route is the useful part. The first piece of a creek-length greenway runs along the lake between Tollgate and Ellis Roads. The planning documents behind it, including the 2020 boardwalk concept and draft trail plans, are posted on the county's project page if you want to see how the crossing was first drawn.

A new trailhead at the Woodbourne Road fishing area and a rebuilt Bridgetown Pike roundabout are the kind of changes I keep track of for clients in Langhorne and surrounding areas. If you have questions about homes near Core Creek Park, I'm glad to help.

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Dennis Martin, REALTOR® | eXp Realty, LLC
Cell 215-913-0711
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